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ART MUSEUM, BERNE,
S WITZERLAND
ARCHITECT
RENZO PIANO
MONUMENT
FOR A MINIATURISTA new museum dedicated to Paul Klee swells seductively into the Swiss landscape.
1Thetheforthe
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ART MUSEUM, BERNE, S WITZERLAND
ARCHITECT
RENZO PIANO
The arcaded streets of the old town of Berne, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site, have acquired a counterpart in the pedestrian concourse
that links the three volumes of the Zentrum Paul Klee, Renzo Piano’s
latest showcase for art. An undulating steel structure emerges from
three hills to the east of the city, facing over the ringroad and surrounded
by fields. It’s a monument that celebrates the work of a brilliant
miniaturist; a fusion of architecture and landscape, warmth and precision,
structural daring and welcoming interiors. It captures the unique spirit of
a native son who made his reputation in Germany, fled Nazi persecution
to return home for a final burst of creativity, and is buried close by.
Klee was astonishingly prolific, meticulously recording the 10 000
works he created in his thirty-year career. ‘Not a day without a sketch,’
he noted in his journal, even as he neared his death in 1940. Members
of the artist’s family and the Klee Foundation promised to donate their
astounding hoard of 4000 paintings and drawings if Berne would provide
a dedicated space to show them. The chief sponsors were ProfessorMaurice Müller, a surgeon who invented the artificial hip, and his wife,
Martha, who selected the location and the architect, and insisted that the
building be a centre for all the arts and for people of all ages. Piano has
created a museum that reaches out to embrace the visitors who stream
in from footpaths, city bus, and motorway.
Like so many of his buildings, the Zentrum has a strong, simple diagram
that belies the complexity of its design and construction. Piano shifted
the site from the one that had first been chosen to address the sunken
motorway, mirroring its gentle curve in the glass facade and even in the
lines of vents cut into the floors of the galleries. That gives the building
a symbolic link to the contemporary world, and to the city that lies
beyond, concealed within its river valley. The undulating topography of the
adjoining hills inspired the profile of the steel beams, which swoop and
soar like a rollercoaster, rising from the earth at the rear to form a trio
of imposing arches in front. Each rounded vault encloses a discrete set
of spaces that are linked at the front by a 150m long glazed concourse
containing the café, ticketing, shop, and reference area. Extended opening
hours encourage visitors to come early or linger in this protected piazza.
A changing selection from the permanent collection is displayed in the
central pavilion, with a temporary exhibition gallery below. To the north,
meeting and restoration areas lead out of the concourse, with a creative
workshop for children below, and a subterranean auditorium behind. The
south pavilion contains the administrative offices, archives, and seminar
rooms, all on the main level.
The 4.2km of steel girders were cut and shaped by computer-
controlled machines but then, because each section has a different
configuration, the 40km of seams were hand-welded. The arches are
slightly inclined at different angles, braced by compression struts, and
tied to the roof plate and floor slabs. In contrast to this assembly of
unique parts, the concrete floors were constructed as a single structure,
without settlement joints. The glass facade is divided into upper andlower sections, which are joined at the 4m roof level of the concourse,
and are suspended from girders to avert stress from thermal expansion
in the steel roof. The glass is shaded by exterior mesh blinds that extend
automatically in response to the intensity of the light, and the high level
of insulation minimizes energy consumption.
All of these measures pay off in the galleries and archives, where
temperature and humidity must be maintained at constant levels, even
though they are seamlessly linked to the busy public concourse. The
permanent collection is displayed beneath the curved vault in a 1700sqm
room that is divided by suspended flats into a benign labyrinth of
interconnecting spaces. Each white screen hovers a couple of centimetres
above the oak floor as do the peripheral walls. To achieve the low lighting
level required by these sensitive works, illumination is indirect and
filtered. Spots cast their beams on the white-boarded ceiling vault, and
this glow is diffused by suspended square scrims.
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4To the rear,the vaults mergeinto the ground.Planting will gradu ally be establ ishedbetween the ridges to make thetransition more seamless.
2The trio oftopographic bumpsmimics the gentleundulations ofthe surroundinglandscape.
3A serpentine pathleads up to the mainentrance.
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6l on g s ec ti on t hr ou gh n or th p av il io n ( co nc ou rs e, c in em a, a ud it or iu m) l on g s ec ti on t hr ou gh m id dl e p av il io n ( co nc ou rs e, g al le ri es )
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cross section
site plan
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5The tapering profile of the vaults.6Detail of main facade and inclinedsteel arches.
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1 north pavilion 2 central pavilion 3 south pavilion 4 main entrance
5 concourse 6 information 7 café 8 servery 9 cinema 10 AV rooms 11 restoration workshops 12 permanent collection 13 shop 14 reference section 15 offices and administration 16 temporary galleries 17 auditorium 18 children’s workshop
7Café and information area in thesoaring public concourse thatunites that trio of vaults andruns along the main facade.
ART MUSEUM, BERNE, S WITZERLAND
ARCHITECT
RENZO PIANO
ground floor plan (scale approx 1:750)
lower ground floor
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It’s easy to see in the open geometry of the plan a reference to some
of Klee’s compositions, and the skein of slender cables supporting walls,
lights, and scrims evokes his spidery penmanship. Piano’s greatest feat is
to give these tiny, intense works the space they need to breathe. Such a
concentration of invention could easily overwhelm the viewer; here, each
work seems to float in its own white void, bathed in a cloud of soft light,
achieving an emotional as well as a formal resonance. Works are grouped,
not chronologically, but by affinity, so that you can explore the infinite
variety of ways in which this master employed line, colour, figurative and
abstract imagery; always enigmatic and never repetitive. Toplit stairs and
a piston-operated lift that is a work of art in itself carry you down to
a room of similar size that presently houses the 366 sketches Klee did
in his last fertile year. Here, the works are arranged on a peripheral and
inner wall that trace the rectangle defined by slender structural columns.
Scattered around both galleries on oak plinths are 40 hand puppets
that Klee made around 1920 to amuse his family. Fabricated from thecommonplace materials and crudely painted, they have a compelling
talismanic quality, revealing the inner child in the artist and in all who
connect with his work.
That spirit carries over into the children’s museum, aptly named
Creaviva for its emphasis on creative play in a succession of workshops
that are open to all ages. The steeply-raked 300-seat auditorium that
burrows into the ground behind is a black box lined with curved
sound baffles in the same orange hue as the Venetian plaster walls of
the outer lobby. Regular performances of chamber music (Klee was an
accomplished violinist), dance, and theatre will be interspersed with
lectures and readings. All will reflect the versatility of the artist and his
friends over four turbulent decades and their enduring legacy.
MICHAEL WEBB
8The curve of the arch runs throughthe glazed link between volumes.9Main gallery for the permanentKlee collection.10Main gallery is an airy labyrinthof suspended flat panels thatsubdivide the space.In places,lightis diffused by horizontal scrims.11Part of the children’s workshop at
ART MUSEUM, BERNE, S WITZERLAND
ARCHITECT
RENZO PIANO
Architect
Renzo Piano Building Workshop,Genoa
Associate architect
ARB Architects,Berne
Structural engineers
Ove Arup & Partners,B + S Ingenieure
Services engineers
Ove Arup & Partners,Luco,Enerconom,Bering
Photographs
Paul Raftery/VIEW
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